The Animator’s Friend

The Animator's Friend is live-to-tape at the The Animator's Picnic!  As part of the 2025 Ottawa International Animation Festival (aka my favorite festival)!  After meeting her for the first time at the last OIAF, I asked my fellow media pass girlie Sarah Schmidt of Malt Adult to join me to talk to the good people at The Animator's Picnic!  In true TAF-fashion, we talked a little shit, swooned over our favorite festival picks, and absolutely refused to talk about AI.
 
Links to points of discussion:
Ottawa International Animation Festival
Sarah Schmidt's website
Sarah Schmidt's Instagram
Malt Adult's website
Malt Adult's Instagram
Adult Swim Smalls
DePaul University - Chicago
Malt Adult #33 - 11/16/25
Camp Snap Camera
Rea Christie's LinkTree
RIT MFA Film and Animation
The Animator's Favorites
Bathroom Girls by Rea Christie
The Animator's Animations
Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) - Ohio
Sublo and Tangy Mustard
The Animator's Playlist
Aaron Long's LinkTree
Jesse Patiences/MallBat's LinkTree
24 memes per second
Surviving Animation podcast
SVA MFA Visual Narrative - NYC
SVA MFA Computer Arts - NYC
Emmett Goodman's website
Pilar Newton-Katz on Instagram
Pilar Newton-Katz's webiste
Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel - Ottawa
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
Sam Gurry's website
Lids.com
TAF with Signe Baumane and Debra Solomon
TAF with Nayon Cho
Jumbo's Clown Room - LA
Smear Frame Podcast
James Thatcher
Annapurna Kumar
Shapeshifters Cinema - Oakland
Animation Brut
LA FilmForum
Victoria Vincent aka vewn
Spencer Moreland's website
Barnaby Catterall on TAF
Cynthia Chu on TAF
Tabitha Fischer on Instagram
JHS Pedals
Beyond the Bastards podcast
Animation Show n Tell on Instagram
Hellavision
Silverlake Shorts
animationshowntell@gmail.com
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
 
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Co-host Sarah Schmidt
Travel support provided by Ottawa International Animation Festival and SVA
Digital Marketing Intern: Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Ian Ballentine, Chris Robinson...
 

In anticipation of the Made in New York: Best of NYC Indie Animation showcase and panel at Metrograph this Saturday (9/13/25, 5pm), I had the opportunity to speak with Signe Baumane and Debra Solomon about the screening, making it in NYC, and 417 Hz YouTube videos.
Just as New York has long been the capital of America’s artistically ambitious “Second Cinema,” a scrappy foil to the Los Angelino industry of streamlined entertainment, it is also home to a counter-tradition of independent animation that has nothing to do with what happens out there in Burbank at the House of the Mouse. Two abundantly talented stalwarts of the NYC animation scene, Bill Plympton and Signe Baumane, have teamed to assemble a program of some of the finest (and most outrageous) work to emerge from artists living and working in the Big Apple, and will be coming to Metrograph to introduce a one-of-a-kind evening of stubbornly individualistic toons, with a number of the participating filmmakers also present. Not the sort of stuff you’re likely to catch on Saturday morning, kids!
“What makes NYC indie animators so special? Sense of timing. As we scurry from place to place trying to avoid gawking tourists, hungry rats and drag racing vehicles we internalize the sense of adventure and fast pacing, and we bring it to our work. This program showcases just a sliver of the best NYC indie animation: some of the films are Oscar winners, others are made by animation newcomers, but they all share the sense of wonder, adventure and perfect NYC timing to make you laugh, cry and be entertained.” —Signe Baumane
Post-screening panel discussion with Chris Wedge, Bill Plympton, Chris Conforti, Lisa LaBracio, Anna Samo, Patrick Smith, Peter Ahern, Alex Budovsky, Candy Kugel, Marilyn Kraemer, Signe Baumane, Debra Solomon, and Morgan Miller on Saturday, September 13th.
 
Links to points of discussion:
Made in New York: Best of NYC Animation showcase and panel on Saturday, September 13th at 5pm
Metrograph
Signe Baumane's website
Karmic Knot
Debra Solomon's website
Debra Solomon's Facebook
Lisa LaBracio on The Animator's Friend
Andy London's website
Arthur Metcalf's website
The Animator's Favorites
Kristian Sensini's website
Angelika Film Center
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
The Animator's Animations
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator based in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.
 
Credits:
Recorded, produced, and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Booking assistance from Kaila Hier
Digital marketing assistance from Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Microphones provided by SVA MFA Computer arts
Special thanks to Kaila, Michael Dondero, Kristie Kish, Darren Santa Maria, and my mom and dad.

Nayon and I met on a grueling hike in the French alps after a revelrous week at Annecy International Animation Festival, bonding us in a unique way.  I can say for myself, she saw my most bratty, unvarnished self within only hours of meeting, which I can't say for most people! Hear us reminisce.
Nayon Cho is an animation director and artist born in Seoul, based in New York. She uses a technique which combines drawings, photographs, cel and computer animation. Experimenting with timing and abstraction in 2D narratives, her works explore themes of gender dynamics and social conditioning.
Upon graduating from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Film/Animation/Video, her short films and commissioned works have screened internationally in film festivals, like Ottawa International Animation Film Festival, Pictoplasma, Kaboom Animation Festival, and more. Recently her commissioned piece, “Peekaboo,” made for Hulu IDs won a Webby Award for Craft-Best Use of Animation.
She is seeking to collaborate on story-driven projects, she is available for work directing, animating & consulting opportunities.
 
Links to points of discussion:
Nayon's website
Hulu IDs Peekaboo
Stigma
Skincrawlies on YouTube
The Animator's Animations
Hudson Valley Film Fest
Hudson Valley Film Fest on Instagram
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
The Animator's Playlist
David De La Fuente's website
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded, produced, edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Digital marketing assistance by Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design and branding by Sawyer Rippon
Microphones provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
Special thanks to Simon Wilches Castro for introducing me and Nayon; Hsiang Chin Moe; Michael Dondero; Malt Adult; and Mom and Dad.

We're at the drive-in this week for the Hudson Valley Film Festival's 10th Anniversary!  There's no doubt how much this fest loves animation, and they invited me and my friend Kristie Kish to interview selected animators including Ryan Castrillo, Michael McGoldrick, John Quinn, Zac Max, and friends of the pod Arnesh Kundu, Michael Dondero, and Shengnan Dong.  We were also honored to be part of Laura Faith's Filmmakers Journey discussion.
The Hudson Valley Film Festival is a grassroots arts fest run by local creatives, featuring a curated and diverse selection of independent, short films screened at the Warwick Drive-In Movie Theater, located only 55 miles from NYC. The festival is in its 10th year and aims to showcase and celebrate independent filmmakers and their films. The festival supports and celebrates indie filmmaking, culture, community, and the local arts scene within the Hudson Valley…and beyond.
To my animator friends: do not miss the chance to submit your work for year 11!  The festival lived up to it's promise of taking us into the beyond with their celestial selections, cosmic connections, and a suspiciously well-timed supernova on opening night!
 
 
Links to points of discussion:
Hudson Valley Film Festival
Hudson Valley Film Festival on Instagram
Warwick Drive-In
Kristie Kish's website
Kristie Kish's Instagram
Ryan Castrillo on Instagram
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Playlist
The Animator's Favorites
Michael McGoldrick on Instagram
Michael McGoldrick on Twitter
Babe Alert on NewGrounds
C204 Animation
Beach Rat Productions on Instagram
Beach Rat Productions Shop
John Quinn's website
John Quinn's Instagram
John Quinn's YouTube
The Storm trailer
Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation, & Technology (PFCAT)
Kristie Kish on The Animator's Friend
Boys Go to Jupiter trailer
Ottawa International Animation Festival
Leland Powley on Instagram
Zac Max's website
Zac Max's Instagram
The Callicoon Theater
Michael Dondero & Shengnan Dong on The Animator's Friend
Nostril's website
Michael Dondero's website
Michael Dondero's Instagram
Shengnan Dong's website
Shengnan Dong's Instagram
Arnesh Kundu's website
Arnesh Kundu's Instagram
The Mahoning Drive-In
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
 
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
 
 
Credits:
Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Co-host Kristie Kish
Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
Travel support provided by the Hudson Valley Film Festival
Digital marketing assistance by Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Arnesh Kundu, Hannah Maxwell, Kristie Kish, Laura Faith, Jess Reisch, Ty Opeña, Darren Santa Maria, Jose Vargas, and Malt Adult.

Tala really knows what it means to live life creatively! She blurs the boundaries between her art practice and personal life to lead an existence that feels like a work of art in and of itself. You can experience this rapturous reality by attending one of her many retreats, workshops, and community events! Join her orbit: @talaschlossberg.
Tala Rae Schlossberg is an American experimental artist known for her distinct animated style, original voice and inventive storytelling. Her animation practice merges rhythm, wordplay, and systems of logic to construct entirely new ways of seeing. Schlossberg’s distinctive visual language—at once ironic, pastoral, and incisively original—reimagines the relationship between image, meaning, and motion.
Links to points of discussion:
Tala's Instagram
Tala's website
Tala's Substack
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Playlist
Peephole Cinema on Instagram
Hudson Valley Film Fest
Hudson Valley Film Fest on Instagram
Kristie Kish on The Animator's Friend
TAF at Animafest Zagreb
TAF at Annecy International Animation Festival
School in Sweden I mentioned: Sorangens folkhogskola
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for personal, lighthearted, and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
Digital marketing assistance by Arnesh Kundu
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design and branding by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Bergen Hoff for introducing me to Tala; Kristie Kish; Michael Dondero; Jose Vargas; Malt Adult; and my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello

Cynthia and I are passionate about being able to communicate with cockroaches one day, but for now, we'll have to settle on talking to eachother. Listen to us in our middle-of-the-night post-lasagna daze, spiraling over roller-coasters, ghosts, and crystals.
Cynthia Chu is a 2D illustrator and cel animator originally from NYC. Her style goes between painterly and moody to silly and simple. Past Clients include Nickelodeon, SONY, Girl Rising, STARZ, MTV, and Court TV.  She is available for freelance Color Design, BG Paint, and 2D Cel Animation.
Links to points of discussion:
Cynthia's Instagram
Cynthia's illustration portfolio
TAF at Annecy with Barnaby Catterall
Josh Pilch on The Animator's Friend
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
The Animator's Favorites
Annecy International Animation Festival
Ottawa International Animation Festival
Anne Beal on The Animator's Friend
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Playlist
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.
 
Credits:
Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design and branding by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Barnaby Catterall, Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello, and AJ Lawrence

We are live-to-tape at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Festival!  Take a pew with me and my friend Barnaby Catterall (who I met at Annecy 8 years ago!) as we chat with Animation Talent Picnic attendees about how well they tan, what animal would play them in a Better Man type biopic of their life, and what they have or have not yet seen at the festival this year.
 
Links to points of discussion:
Barnaby's website
Barnaby's Instagram
Annecy International Animation Festival
Arco
Layer Explorer podcast on Youtube
The Animator's Animations
Alberto Allegri Rodriguez's website
Alberto Allegri Rogdriguez's Instagram
Potlems on Short of the Week
Mikkel Mainz on Instagram
Sun Creature Studio
Skjaldborn Studios
Tales of Alethrion on Youtube
ChaO
Dragon Striker
Hoj
Kfir Ben-Dov's website
Lee-Yam Naaman's website
Lee-Yam Naaman's Instagram
Mononoke The Movie
The Animation Workshop
Pedro Martins Twitch
Hlin on Instagram
Melissa Raymond Lund's website
Royal College of Art Animation MA
The Animator's Favorites
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.
 
 
Credits:
Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Co-host Barnaby Catterall
Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
Travel support provided by Annecy International Animation Festival and SVA MFA Computer Arts
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Cynthia Chu; Brent Sievers; Ash Suh; Tracy Liu; my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello; Barnaby's mom and dad; Darren Santa Maria.
 

In the interest of making new friends while attending Animafest Zagreb this year, I hung out at the festival picnic to record some impromptu conversations. This feels especially meaningful since Animafest is where I got the idea for the podcast this time last year! I was graciously joined by Sawyer Rippon, designer of the TAF logo, to chat with some new buds about Animafest's programming, frogs, and the beauty of the animation community with guests.
 
Links to points of discussion:
Sawyer's website
Sawyer's Instagram
Animafest Zagreb
Bratislava Academy of Performing Arts
Alina Koroleva's website
Alina Koroleva's Instagram
Estonian Academy of Arts
Power Rangers Time Force on Tubi
Yiyang Sun's website
Yiyang Sun's Instagram
@rs92221 on Instagram
A Night at the Rest Area by Saki Muramoto trailer
Ode to Perfume by Maxim Litvinov trailer
Rise & Shine
Animateka International Animation Festival
Kaboom Animation Festival
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Favorites
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.
 
 
Credits:
Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Co-host Sawyer Rippon
Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
Travel support provided by Animafest Zagreb and SVA MFA Computer Arts
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Ash Suh for talking about recording at animation festivals with me; either Britt Raes or Tracy Liu for talking about recording specifically at the festival picnics with me; my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello; Darren Santa Maria.
 

Listen to my chat with my two favorite Annecy Achievers Michael Dondero and Shengnan Dong, whose film Nostril has been programmed into Annecy International Animation Festivals 2025's WTF Block!  If you are going to Annecy, book your ticket for one of the WTF blocks ASAP or rush day of!
 
Links to points of discussion:
Nostril's website
Michael Dondero's website
Michael Dondero's Instagram
Shengnan Dong's website
Shengnan Dong's Instagram
Annecy International Animation Festival
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Favorites
The Animator's Playlist
Walla Walla Movie Crush
Lost Signal Society (Michael's podcast)
Woodstock Film Festival
Blender
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.
 
Credits:
Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello; Malt Adult and Sarah Schmidt; Darren Santa Maria

Two episodes in one month!? Don't get used to it!... yet.
Brent Sievers was in NYC a few weeks ago to receive a Webby for his show The Land of Boggs, becoming the podcast's first Angelino; allaying any blind East Coast/West Coast allegiances with his holistic perspective on the bites, the vibes, and the views.
Links to points of discussion:
Land of Boggs on Instagram
Brent's Instagram
The Divide
Caleb Wood's website
The Animator's Favorites
Los Tacos No. 1
Vidiots
The Animator's Animations
The Animator's Playlist
The Animator's Friend on Instagram
 
The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.
Credits:
Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
Music by Cloutmeyer
Design by Sawyer Rippon
Special thanks to Lisa Lombardi-Bello, Mick Bello, and Darren Santa Maria